


Ignite My Circuits.

by memefucker69



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Futuristic, M/M, Robots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-26
Updated: 2014-05-26
Packaged: 2018-01-26 16:07:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1694324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/memefucker69/pseuds/memefucker69
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which a robot, named Kris, short circuits for the mechanic around the block named Zitao.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Cannot Lie

**Author's Note:**

> posted on asianfanfics as well, under the username memefucker69.

He was a machine; he wasn’t allowed to feel, wasn’t allowed to speak unless ordered.

He wasn’t allowed to be curious.

Yet, everyday his long and almost human-like legs carried him to that one place a block or so away from his creator’s home. The robot would stumble out of fear that he would be caught, but he would be smiling in earnest at the slight rush it gave him, as though his oil was boiling in his veins. An adrenaline rush, as humans called it?

He would never go beyond the alley corner, peering just out of the shadows to watch the steady mechanic work in his always-open garage. This mechanic was rather skilled; his own brain, installed with the latest update, had trouble recognizing some of the devices and techniques he used. From simple robots to cars, this mechanic fixed them all with ease.

Today, for example, the blond robot watched with ever-present eagerness as the male mechanic across the street fiddled with an old lady’s pet dog. Of course, it too was advanced machinery. Nearly all pets were that way.

His unblinking, inhuman bright blue eyes watched with slight excitement. He wished to go closer, to watch the mechanic easily fix up the woman’s problem perfectly. But he could not. Even if his master was out and would not be spying on him via tracking device, the robot would not take the chance of being seen by anyone. Never.

At this distance, it was nearly impossible for a human to hear the mechanic and his customers chatting, but this bot had advanced hearing.

He loved the mechanic’s voice. It wasn’t rough or deep like you’d expect. It was smooth and rather melodic to the ears. His voice had a rather nasally tone when he spoke and he stuttered some words, giving away that he was a foreigner. He was from China. The robot had overheard this a few days prior. It made him happy. It was almost like they had something in common. His master was from China.

If he were an animal, his ears would have perked up eagerly as the elderly woman asked for the mechanic’s name. No matter how many times the bot had watched from his spot and listened, he had never managed to catch the man’s name. Now was his chance.

However, a red alert rang in his eyes and a high pitched ringing filled his ears. It was an alarm he had placed; to make sure he wouldn’t overdue his stay and return to his home before his master arrived and found out that his robot had left.

Hastily, and with a heavy, disappointed heart, the tall blond rounded the block and went back to his master’s home, using his heightened leg strength to scale the gates.

* * *

“Kris!” A familiar voice shouted, startling the bot just as he opened the front door of the manor he was supposed to be tending to. Having rolled around in the grass, Kris made sure that his master would believe his “lie”.

But machines cannot lie. He was programmed not to.

“Where have you been?” His master, Lu Han, demanded, looking up at Kris’s tall stature with worry.

The nervous robot looked to his feet. “Outside,” he simply stated, as far as his AI would allow him to fib.

“Outside…?” The short human made a gesture for the blond to continue.

“Watching,” Kris shut his mouth before he could let any other truths slip. If he was found out, Lu Han would reprogram him. If he was found out, he could be thrown away. If he was found out—

\--he’d forget about the mechanic.

“Watching the gates?” A smile spread onto Lu Han’s lips. Kris neither nodded nor shook his head, but smiled in acknowledgement.

His master was Lu Han, a young man of twenty-one. He was the son of a wealthy, well-off family with a famous electronics/robotics company. Lu Han was also a prized scholar, and his greatest creation in robotics was K.R.I.S. or “Kris” as he had nicknamed his first functioning robot. Kris served as both his butler and research subject. Kris was constantly modified and updated with new technology and innovations that Lu Han worked on alone.

Lu Han lived alone, but he wasn’t lonely. He would often get visit from his friends and future business clients.

As the human led Kris into the fancy home and cleaned him off in the bath, he spoke. “Kai and Suho are coming over at six o’clock. Please make dinner for them and tidy up the house, if you will.” He scrubbed at the dirtied face of his bot, Kris frowning at the tug on his human-like skin.

“Yes,” he replied just as obediently as usual. “Are Chanyeol and D.O. coming?”

Suho and Kai were friends of Lu Han’s, robotic specialists just as he was. Though both came from lower social classes, they built their stance off of amazing creations, like Lu Han had. Their own creations were almost identical to Kris’s class, but Lu Han boasted his bot as being “one of a kind”.

Each time they visited, they gratefully brought their robots with them, the three machines having become great friends with each other. It was something Kris enjoyed and looked forward to when they visited.

“Of course,” Lu Han smoothly replied. “We’re just going to exchange research as usual, so we will spend most of the night in the study. We’ll be dining right after they arrive, so you’ll need to prepare the food quickly.”

“Yes.”

Once he was finished washing up, Lu Han helped Kris dress himself. Though he had insisted to his master that he was well suited to dress himself, the smaller man had spoken as if it Kris had terrible taste in fashion. Well, fashion sense had never really been installed into his AI chip.

He stood up, preparing to go to the kitchen right away, only to trip over his own two feet. Lu Han narrowing his eyes at the sight. “I extended your leg height to help with your jumping ability, but it seems to be off-balanced somehow. Maybe they’re too long…”

Kris pursed his lips. He’d always been rather clumsy, but his awkward walking and stance had heightened since his leg replacements the week before.

“Alright, I’ll take you in for an update in a few days, once I can make the new legs.” Lu Han nodded to himself, eyes meeting Kris’s artificial ones.

The robot once more nodded in obedience.

* * *

The doorbell rung just as Kris had finished plating the last dish, placing it in the dining hall with intense focus. He didn’t want to trip again while holding such sacred and expensive pottery in his hands. Lu Han answered the door, allowing Kris to finish his work in the kitchen and clean up.

Suho and his ever-silent robot, D.O., arrived first. The two were quite a contrast to each other, apparently intended by Suho. He had wanted to test the influential capabilities of a human to a robot, so the cheerful and rather social man had created D.O. the opposite intentionally.

Kris liked D.O.; in the times he did speak, he was a very nice and considerate machine.

It was only moments later that Kai arrived, Chanyeol standing excitedly next to him. Chanyeol was a very social bot, very unlike his kind and model. He was a jokester and a friendly guy to say the least. He also clung to his master Kai at every possible moment. He was a machine that cared a lot for his own creator. If you didn’t know, you’d consider them close friends.

As their masters dined, the robotic trio retreated to what was classified as Kris’s room. It was merely a place for him to spend time alone, the only time he slept was when he was shut down by Lu Han for maintenance and other things.

“Did you get taller?” Chanyeol asked, comparing their heights with his hand as they entered the room. The tips of his chocolate brown locks reached just below Kris’s chin. The shorter male’s eyes widened at the sight.

“My legs were replaced recently,” Kris answered before frowning, “except they’re—“

Just as he spoke, Kris tripped over his own two feet for the second time that evening, falling to his knees and hands.

“They’re like stilts,” D.O. finished for him, chuckling at the amusing sight.

“They only make you clumsier!” Chanyeol laughed, but helped his friend up nonetheless.

“Master is going to update me in a few days and fix them,” he said grumpily in embarrassment.

Chanyeol and Kris opted to sit on the bed that had been set in the room for appearances, D.O. having sat on the adjacent leather couch by himself. They sat in silence for a moment, not really sure what to talk about. They weren’t humans, weren’t impatient, so not talking wasn’t hard for them.

“…Did you hear what happened to Baekhyun?” Chanyeol suddenly spoke, face unusually serious for once. The raven-haired male perked up from the couch and nodded his head, Kris doing the opposite with curious eyes.

Baekhyun was another robot he was well acquainted with. He had found it odd that Lay, Baekhyun’s creator, hadn’t attended the evening dinner. In fact, he hadn’t seen either of them in a long time. Judging by Chanyeol’s face, it wasn’t pleasant.

“He mouthed back a lot, didn’t listen, and tried running away from Lay.” Chanyeol began to smirk. “They shut him down and threw him away with the other junk.”

“What an idiot.” D.O. added, rolling his dark eyes.

The brunet shrugged. “It’s his fault for getting broken. I knew it was gonna happen eventually. He had a few loose screws, you know?”

“Why did he run away?” Kris asked, a feeling of nervousness washing over him for a reason he couldn’t explain. He smiled awkwardly, however, trying to fit in.

“He claimed to have ‘fallen in love’ with some female human.” Chanyeol snorted.

If Kris had a heart, it would’ve throbbed and melted into his stomach at that moment. All the oil rushed to his brain and he couldn’t think, his electric blue eyes wide.

That situation sounded a lot like his own.

“I…” he spoke up quietly after a period of silence, “am the same.”

“What?” The other two machines spoke in unison, same dumbfounded and shocked expression on their features.

Though he had no reason for breathing, the blond bot took a deep breath. He hadn’t confessed this to anyone and trusting his perfectly programmed robot brethren to help him was a stretch, especially considering they had just laughed at Baekhyun. But his unsaid words pooled out of his mouth.

“There is a human down the block. He is a mechanic, and I watch him sometimes when Master Lu Han is out. I feel…strange when I watch. I nearly short-circuit at times, and I lose all thought processes. It feels like all the oil in my body is bubbling. I am broken, but I cannot help myself.” He finished.

All was quiet in the room, and the other robots stared at him surprise and vague amazement.

“You  _are_  broken,” D.O. broke the silence.

“That’s for sure. Don’t worry about it though,” Chanyeol patted Kris on the shoulder sympathetically, “I’m sure Lu Han will just fix you up if you tell him.”

Kris suddenly grabbed the brunet’s shoulders, looking him straight in the eye. “He can’t know! I’ll forget if he fixes me.” His voice grew in desperation with every word.

“How will you hide it from him then? You’re getting your legs replaced, aren’t you?” The dark-haired robot spoke up from the couch. “He’ll take a look at the rest of you too, most likely.”

Kris’s shoulders slumped. “You’re right.”

“You’ll have to get out of here then.” Chanyeol said. “You can’t stay here.”

“But I’ll be like Baekhyun and Lu Han will—“

“Don’t get caught then,” D.O. added.

Kris looked to the both of them in alarm and Chanyeol sighed. “We’re telling this to you as friends, alright?” He gave a supportive smile. “You aren’t the smartest guy, but if you play your cards right, you can escape.”

“Where would I go?”

“To that mechanic, obviously,” the brunette flicked Kris’s forehead. “He’ll probably let you stay with him if he fixes robots. Just tell him you’re broken or something.”

“I can’t lie.”

“It wouldn’t be one because you are truly broken.” D.O. clarified.

The blond stared at his feet, a growing habit of his. He had always been completely obedient to Lu Han up until now. It was odd of him to think of running away, especially surviving on his own? Kris had never ventured out of the manor much, other than to go watch the mechanic.

He wasn’t entirely sure he could just turn his back like that.


	2. Cannot Refuse

“Hey, Tao, you in here?”

He looked up from the small robot his was tinkering with, seeing a familiar face stroll into his garage, a brown, and rather large, sack thrown over his shoulder. Zitao made a unpleased face, but pushed himself away from his desk, chair scraping against the hard flooring loudly.

The brunet smiled as he spotted the mechanic and dumped the sack on the floor. It made a heavy and loud sound, surprising the black-haired male. Rolling the sleeves of his tattered jacket, he approached the newly arrived man.

“What are you here for, Lay? Don’t come often,” Tao asked as he bent down to inspect the bag, figuring it was spare parts for him to use. Most his more efficient and…well-off friends often brought him their old models or pieces of them they didn’t need anymore. It was a big benefit since parts weren’t getting any cheaper.

“Yeah, I had some…things to deal with,” Lay answered, shaking his head before continuing, “I came to bring you a ton of parts.”

“No wonder it’s so big,” the other man concluded, beginning to untie the string sack. “Oh,” he looked up in realization, “…where’s Baekhyun?”

Lay gave him no answer, only a cold stare with his seemingly always-tired eyes. “Open the bag.”

Tao did as told, confused that his question went unanswered. Untying it properly, and spreading it open, he peered in only to be completely shocked. No wonder it was bigger than usual, no wonder it was super heavy. Inside was Baekhyun. The robot was shut off, of course, but his eyes were wide open. It was almost haunting.

The mechanic could never understand how the robot developers of the world could so easily throw away something that seemed so  _human_. If they could be fixed, why call them a failure and label them as junk?

“What happened?” Tao asked, keeping a blank expression.

“Something twisted in his AI chip. He ran off one night,” the brunet gave a solemn expression. “I was already developing a more advanced model, so there’s no use to try and fix him and get him running again. You can use him for scraps or fix him yourself.” Lay gave a shrug and turned to leave. “I don’t really have any use for him.”

“You don’t want any payment?”

“From a poor mechanic like you?” Lay gave a snort and left through the way he had come, mixing with the crowd on the street.

Tao glared at the retreating back, lips pulling into a grimace of disgust. No matter how friendly the righ robotic majors were to him, that topic was always brought up. It pissed him of more than it upset him—most of the time.

Heaving a sigh to clear his angered mind, the raven-haired man fully removed the disabled robot from the sack, laying him on the ground before dragging him by the arms to his larger work bench. The metal frame of Baekhyun’s model was relatively heavy (being something Lay had to work on) so he was a bit heavier than the average human male, Tao having to use all of his strength to get him on the bench. Rolling the bot onto his stomach, Tao brushed back the tips of Baekhyun’s caramel hair, finding the port on his neck. He plugged in a usb cord there, the touch screen monitor standing beside the bench coming to life.

This monitor allowed him to view the AI status of any bot. It was pretty difficult to figure out without proper training, which was why so many people came to Tao to fix their androids.

Though the mechanic was just as bright as Lay and the other robotic specialists, he hadn’t come from the same wealthy background as they had.

Tao grew up in a low-class family of car mechanics in China. They were extremely nice and kind people, treated and raised him well, his father having teached him the basic mechanic techniques and skills. However, his parents had passed away in a car accident when he was only sixteen, and Tao was then placed in foster care for the following two years of his life. Once he was on his own, he didn’t have much money and picked up his mechanic expertise while being an apprentice at a shop in South Korea. And the old man had passed away, the shop then becoming his own as it was today.

However, as technology improved and improved it was getting excruciatingly harder to keep up and teach himself the proper techniques. So earning money was more difficult than ever. Luckily, there were still those old folks who were stubborn and kept their outdated models that needed constant attention.

As Tao scanned over the many red errors located on the screen, he frowned and wondered ifit really was worth fixing Baekhyun instead of using the robot for spare parts that he desperately needed for future customers. It was already a miracle that Lay had the kindness to give him Baekhyun’s entire model.

Staring at the monitor for a little bit longer, the dark-haired male scrubbed his face with both hands before deciding on what exactly he was to do. Bringing up the keyboard, he began focusing on his work.

Time passed quickly as he coded and decoded for all of the errors in Baekhyun’s AI chip. Red alert windows popped up right after another, and Tao only took a break just to quickly make a sandwich for dinner and tend to three customers that stopped by.

By the time he had efficiently finished, the mechanic stretched and peeked at the clock to see that it was nearly midnight.

Tao had fixed all fifty errors and even messed around a little as he pleased. He kept Baekhyun’s unique personality in tact, but made him more open to change, meaning that the mechanic would be allowed to use the robot for parts when needed without refusal. He also promised himself that he would always give him supplemental parts to run on.

The mechanic had never really worked with his own functioning robot before, so having Baekhyun would be a new experience. But it also meant he could have more help around the shop.

Shutting everything down and leaving Baekhyun on the table, Tao retired to his apartment on the second floor of the shop, being sure to lock down everything properly.

However, just as he was about to lie down in bed, his cell phone rang noisily from the bedside table. Frowning and wondering who would call him at this late hour, Tao picked it up and his eyes went wide in disbelief.

Yet, he pressed a button on the screen and ignored the call.

_Why the hell would **Lu Han** be calling him?_


	3. Cannot Catch

He had given up his thoughts of betraying and leaving Lu Han. It just wasn’t possible, wasn’t logical in Kris’s mind. His head hurt terribly, his gut ached, just thinking about it. No amount of reassurance from both Chanyeol and D.O. could help in his decision making. It was something that Kris had decided himself.

Which was more important, his master, Lu Han, or the precious, unknown mechanic?

If he wasn’t malfunctioning, the robot would of course answer Lu Han right away. Yet, Kris was indeed messed up in the AI, and he came to find that he was stuck and unable to answer and choose correctly. Lu Han was his master who placed every ounce of trust in Kris. He treated the robot with love and care, almost like Kris was his younger brother and the bot cared for him just as much.

But he knew almost nothing about the mechanic. He didn’t know his name, his age, where he came from, what he valued—nothing. But Kris didn’t care.

He loved how the mechanic’s voice rose in pitch when he was agitated, he loved how he always wiped his stained hands on his pants, and he loved the dark shadows beneath those olive hues, among so many other things.

And with those confused thoughts, Kris decided to pretend that there was no choice to be made at all. He’d let what was to happen, happen.

The blond worked around the manor as usual: cleaning, cooking, and stumbling around. Lu Han spoke about having begun to make his new legs, so Kris was stuck with his usual, uncomfortable ones. He was scolded once by his master for accidentally falling into the pool and ruining his “perfect, brand new suit”. Kris hated dressing formally everyday anyways, which was why he neglected the suit jacket and left his vest unbuttoned. It was too suffocating and looked funny to him.

So he was happy, even if it was too good to last.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye, and, to his disappointment, Kris as unable to sneak out and visit the mechanic downtown. Lu Han was holed up in his lab of sorts, working on Kris’s improvements.

And, on the third day, in the late evening, he was finished.

“Kris, Kris! Come quick!” The shorter male called to his creation, who was turning the night sprinklers on. With a curious gaze and shaking legs, Kris did as he was asked and went inside.

“What is it?” he asked as he followed after Lu Han.

“I finished your new parts!” Lu Han exclaimed rather excitedly. He was always overjoyed when an opportunity to meddle with Kris presented itself.

Kris, on the other hand, froze in place. He’d have to go to the lab, he’d get analyzed. Lu Han would see the state of his AI. He would be found out. Every memory of the mechanic would be wiped out before Kris even got a say. What was he to do?

Lu Han noticed his reaction and stopped in the hallway, his visage filled with concern. “Kris? What’s wrong?”

Kris immediately perked up at the question. “Nothing!” he gave a smile, though his eyes were filled with overflowing worry.

The human narrowed his eyes for a moment before letting it go and turning back around. Kris’s face fell as he did so and he gulped.

His mind spun in consistent circles, puzzling and looking for the best option. He couldn’t stay and let Lu Han alter his AI. That was for sure. He had to go and escape from his master. But where would he go, what would he do, how would he even escape?

“You aren’t the smartest guy, but if you play your cards right, you can escape.”

Chanyeol’s words echoed in his mind as the robot ceased his walking and turned to the large window at his right. His electric blue eyes looked out to the perfect view of the dark, twinkling sky and the high fence that encased the manor and yard.

“Kris?”

Ah, so there was a way.

He ignored his name being called and took a few steps back.

“KRIS!”

Just as Lu Han dashed back down the hall, the robot ran through and shattered the large window, shards of glass dusting the outside and the hallway carpet. Lu Han stood, flabbergasted, as he watched his creation sprint across the yard. Quickly getting to his senses, the human ran after his robot, screaming its name.

Kris’s mind was blank as he ran, not listening to Lu Han’s cries, the sprinklers soaking him to the bone as he neared the fence. That would be an obstacle. Scaling it would be difficult because of the height, and though jumping was Kris’s main ability, the legs he was currently equipped with weren’t cut out for it.

Gripping the iron bars in his hands, he tugged and pulled, using his strength to hopefully pry them apart. As he did so, the bot looked back to see Lu Han catching up to him and his eyes went wide. He tried pulling them apart using all the strength in his joints, but the iron bars wouldn’t budge. Looking at the rather large space between the bars, his only option left was to try and slip through them.

Turning his body to the side, Kris swiftly managed to slip through the space, just barely thin enough to make it, however, just as he was about to slip his left leg through, something—or someone—latched on to it.

“Kris! What are you doing?!” Lu Han cried as he pulled on the robot’s leg, trying to drag him back into the fence. With wide and guilt-filled eyes, Kris resisted, bracing himself on the other side of the fence.

“Answer me!” he shouted, looking Kris straight in the eye.

Kris said nothing as he continued to resist, but Lu Han’s grip was tight, and he wasn’t able to harm him. His programming was against it.

But he had to escape.

With a steel-filled gaze and gritted teeth, Kris laid his own hand over Lu Han’s that was placed under his knee and gripped the top of his knee with his other hand.

“Sorry,” was all he muttered before he snapped and tore his own leg, pants ripping and wires snapping apart as oil splattered over the both of them.

Lu Han’s heart pounded slowly and heavily in his chest as he held the dismembered half of his own creation’s leg, watching as Kris disappeared into the shadows of the street, limping. His eyes were wide with disbelief, his mind continuously wondering what had just happened.

He wanted to know why.

Rushing into the manor, throwing the leg across the room in anger, Lu Han grabbed his cell phone and quickly called the only person he knew that lived in the nearby town. He knew Tao wouldn’t like to speak with him, considering they were on ill terms, but it was an emergency.

It rang, but cut off very suddenly. Tao had ignored his call.

Kris panted for breath as he propped himself up against the wall of the alley. It wasn’t as though his tattered leg hurt and caused him pain, but it was troublesome having to hop everywhere and not be seen.

But he was somewhat happy that he had ripped off the bottom half of the ligament. There was a tracking chip in his foot, and he would’ve totally forgotten about it regardless. It wouldn’t be worth it if he was caught so easily.

Hearing the approach of footsteps and voices, Kris froze and hid in the shadows, not breathing. The voices neared, and he immediately recognized them as Suho, Lu Han, and D.O. If he had a heart, it would be beating out of his chest. Kris could only pray that they wouldn’t see him, or D.O. would cover for him.

As they stopped in front of the alleyway, D.O. walked ahead, peering into the shadows, vibrant green eyes glowing in the darkness before they locked onto Kris.

The robot stared back with hopeful eyes and D.O. frowned, but then nodded. If eyes could speak, his would be saying “good luck”.

“Well?”

“He’s not here,” D.O. answered Suho, turning his back to Kris’s hidden form, “we should look somewhere else.”

The two humans nodded and the three left.

Kris let out a sigh of relief, standing and hobbling out, looking left and right to make sure there was no one around before crossing the street. Just a little more and he’d be at the shop; he could only hope that the mechanic would help him. If not, he might as well just go back to Lu Han.

But his chest ached at that thought. He…wanted to know more about the mechanic; he wanted to be accepted by the mechanic. He wanted the mechanic to know more about him.

And before he knew it, he was there, standing in the exact spot he always had been watching the mechanic from. He felt a sort of spark in his chest at the distant memories and hurriedly made his way across the street, a step he had never taken before.

Letting out an excited breath as he stopped in front of the shop, Kris admired it close up. The scratch on the brick that had been caused by some kid running his bike into it, the oil stain on the sidewalk from when a malfunctioning robot had been violently subdued by the police, and the blackened handle of the now-closed garage door that the mechanic touched every night to close. All of it he had witnessed. Kris felt as though he knew the shop personally even though he had never stepped foot near it himself.

Adjusting his soaked and tattered clothes, he hopped over to the side door that was never used by customers, a piece of him hoping the mechanic was still awake. As he reached for the doorbell, his hand faltered. A feeling like nervousness clogged his throat. This was how humans felt when approaching the object of their desire, was it not? If so, he’d just have to overcome it.

The bot took a deep breath and pressed the button, the shrill tone ringing behind the door. His ears caught a sigh from the upper floor and shuffling and tripping. Then a crack of light illuminated underneath the door and footsteps approached. The door was roughly unlocked before opening, light entering the darkness and the tired face of the mechanic appearing.

“I’m not open right now—“

“Please…help me.”


	4. Can Be Accepted

When his doorbell to the shop chimed unexpectedly half-past one AM, the shrill tone waking Tao up immediately, he figured it to be some dancing drunk fools or young boys up to no good. He had closed long ago, seeing a customer was the last thing he expected.

Crawling out of his small, cold, and lumpy, yet somehow comfortable bed and throwing the sheets off of himself angrily, Tao made his way out of his room and cramped apartment, not bothering to throw anything on other than a hoodie and some sweatpants. He was a bit out of it when woken up; in the mornings, it took him nearly half an hour to actually get out of the bed.

The mechanic stumbled down the steps, nearly missing one in his sleepy stupor and managing to catch himself with the rails. Shaking his head in hopes of clearing it up, he managed to make it to the cold cement of the bottom floor, reaching and searching blindly for the light switch. Tao flipped one switch on so that he could find the door without an accident.

He unlocked and opened the door tiredly, wiping his eyes and preparing to give the annoyance a mouthful. However Tao found himself face-to-face with a helpless and terribly injured robot.

At first glance, he would’ve thought it was a human bothering him, with his soft-looking skin and flawless face. It was like a model or a marble sculpture had arrived at his doorstep. But the dead giveaway was the inhuman cyan hues, the bar code nearly hidden by the shadow beneath his chin, and, of course, the mangled leg that was practically spewing wires and dripping black oil.

Zitao didn’t even think, nor speak as he grabbed the arm of his uninvited visitor. He jerked the other male inside frantically, kicking the door shut as he helped the virtually one-legged robot walk.

While the shorter male kept his fierce expression, Kris was grinning like an idiot in love—which he was. His dream had come true. He was talking to the mechanic, interacting with him. Oh god, he was touching him. An electric spark sent his mind going haywire.

The raven-haired mechanic led Kris to a bench in the garage, helping up and getting him seated on the oil-stained iron bench properly. Kris leaned back on his hands. The rusted surface was scratchy, but he didn’t mind as he watched the unknown mechanic flip on all of the lights, illuminating the sheer awful appearance of Kris’s leg. The bot’s eyes widened a fraction in surprise. It looked terrible. If he was human, the sight would’ve disgusted him. Not only that, but his clothes were also soaked and torn from the journey, and oil clung and dripped from his skin.

Tao occupied himself with grabbing a couple of tools, pausing for a moment to stare at Baekhyun who was on the other bench. His olive eyes flickered between Baekhyun’s legs and the blonde’s from across the room. Could he…? No, he should inspect the damage first. Always know what you’re getting into first before deciding. That was something he had learned from his late father.

Returning to the damaged Kris, the human bent down to inspect the “wound”. The whole lower half of his leg looked as though it had been ripped off by some animal. A few centimeters below the knee there was nothing. Multicolored wires were frayed and artificial skin was peeling and flaking off like a bad paint job. Just by looking, Tao could tell that a few nuts and bolts were out of place, and he would have to replace the entire leg if it were to function again.

Kris watched the other man’s every movement, a feeling like overwhelming bliss fluttered in his stomach like caged butterflies. He was right before the very object of his adoration and affection. Another strange, idiotic smile twitched at his fabricated lips and the toes on his only foot curled in warm satisfaction.

The mechanic was silent as he lifted the machine’s broken limb up, further inspecting it and probing around in the large gash with his hand. A tickling feeling arose when the split wiring was toyed with as Tao poked around and analyzed the level of damage. However his impassive expression soon turned into a frown.

He sighed and pulled away. “I’m not sure if I can fix this, to be honest.”

“What?” Kris was appalled. “Why?”

The mechanic looked straight into the bot’s vivid eyes. “For one, the wiring used in you is much more complicated than what I’m used to and know. Secondly,” he lifted both of Kris’s legs in his hands, comparing them, “your legs are really long. If I replace the left, I’ll have to replace the,” Tao struggled for the word, “the…”

“’Right’,” Kris corrected in Korean, knowing exactly why Tao had trouble.

“Yes,” he replied, a little grumpily from embarrassment. “You’ll have to find someone else to repair this.”

“NO!” Kris shouted, icy blue gaze piercing and chilling the raven-haired mechanic to the bone. The robot found himself grabbing the human’s arm, preventing him from standing up and leaving the situation. His grip was surprisingly strong and harsh, painful enough to make Tao visibly flinch.

“What’s your problem?!” the human asked, trying to tug his own arm away. “Look,” Tao managed to shove the robot into a lying position on the table, “there’s another mechanic not too far from here. His name is Minseok. He’s more advanced than I am. I’m sure he can—“

“No,” Kris repeated, grasping the slightly rough hands that held his shoulders down. “I…I cannot.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have nowhere to go back to. And even then, I have no money,” the robot looked away from Tao’s sharp gaze. He felt intimidated by those eyes, like they could read his every thought.

“You ran away?” the mechanic’s voice was filled with extreme astonishment. Well it explained where his injuries came from.

“Yes,”

“And your creator doesn’t know where you are?”

“No, he is searching for me though—“

“Then why the hell did you come here?” Tao’s voice sounded angry. Kris flinched in both surprise and hurt. He hadn’t expected his arrival to burden the mechanic. In fact, he hadn’t thought about it at all. How stupid he was to figure so.

Even if he knew so much about the mechanic, the mechanic knew nothing about him.

“I came here because…” Kris gathered his words. “I came because I am…intrigued by you.” He gathered Tao’s hands in his own, this time in a soft, gentle hold. “I adore you, and I found myself drawn to you. I could no longer sit back and watch I had…I had to take action. So I ran and threw myself upon your doorstep, already knowing you were kind enough to do so. It is cruel of me to ask so much of you, but I’ll do anything.” Again he gave that awkward, strange smile that lit up his features.

The human seemed significantly surprised by Kris’s sudden confession, blood rushing to his cheeks and dusting them with a light pink, a rather cute reaction from the seemingly stoic Tao. Of course he was shocked. Whatever reason Kris could’ve told him, he figured it wouldn’t be something like that.

Clearing his throat and sitting back, removing his hands from the blonde’s grasp, the mechanic nodded. “Fine, I’ll accept that for now, but on one condition.”

Kris sat up as well. “Which is?”

“Answer some questions for me.”

“Go ahead.”

“Alright, what’s your name?”

“My model name is rather long,” he scratched at his skin, just below his chin, where his bar code identification was, “but it is shortened to just ‘Kris’.”

“Kris,” Tao tried the name on his tongue. It was definitely a foreign name.

“What about you?” the robot scooted closer, eager. “What’s your name?”

“Huang Zitao,” the mechanic answered, “just ‘Tao’ is fine.”

An excited breath left the robot’s lips at the hearing of the human’s name. It wasn’t exactly what he had expected, but it fit the dark-haired male perfectly somehow, and the way it danced off his tongue and spun in the air had Kris doing mental backflips. “Tao,” he murmured.

Tao’s lips twitched in a smile at the sound. “So, tell me this, who’s your master?”

Kris snapped into reality and looked to Tao worriedly. “You won’t…take me back if I tell you?”

“For now, at least,”

Swallowing, the bot opened his mouth, knowing that no matter what his lips would spill the truth, as they were programmed to. “Lu Han,” he said rather reluctantly.

Tao nearly fell off the table in surprise. His dark eyes were the size of saucers at the news. “…Really?”

Kris wasn’t sure what to make of his reaction, giving a look of confusion. “Yes.”

But the human began to chuckle which turned into a full on laugh. “Seriously?” he gave a wide grin, cat-like eyes narrowing in amusement. “I can’t believe it! Ahahahaha!”

“What’s…”

Tao wiped the tears forming in his eyes away, calming his short burst of sudden laughter. “Nothing, nothing,” he waved a hand. “I just know the guy is all. No wonder he was calling me earlier. He must’ve been searching for you.”

“He doesn’t know about my connection to you, so he shouldn’t come looking here,” Kris said.

“Good and you’re lucky it’s Lu Han,” Tao gave a smirk, getting to his feet, “because now I don’t want to give you back.”

There was clearly some past history between Lu Han and the mechanic that Kris didn’t know about. In fact, he had no idea that they knew each. Lu Han never mentioned someone named “Zitao”. Furrowing his brows, the robot felt an ominous presence, like a weight pressing on his shoulders. It felt like something terrible was in the future.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, the mechanic groaned at the early time. “Okay, for the meantime, I’ll just patch you up as best as I can and we’ll see what we can do tomorrow.” Kris gave a nod in agreement and Tao got to work removing the broken piece below the robot’s knee cap, unscrewing it and removing the wiring properly so that Kris was just left with his upper left leg in perfect condition.

Once that was completed, Tao rubbed his sleepy eyes and yawned, putting all his tools back as Kris hopped off the table, clinging to it as support. The raven-haired male went to his side, draping Kris’s arm over his shoulder and helping the taller up the steps as he shut off the lights to the lower floor.

The blond took in the view of Tao’s upper apartment which he had never seen before. It was rather plain and small in appearance, all of the walls were white and all the floors made of worn out hardwood, minus the kitchen which was a sunny yellow with dirtied ivory tiling. It was simply composed of a living room, bedroom, tiny bathroom, and a kitchen. Perfect for someone who lived alone, right?

“You live alone?” Kris asked.

“Yeah,” the human nodded as he brought Kris into his bedroom, sitting him down on the bed before leaving momentarily only to return with an old futon. He laid it out on the floor beside the bed. “You can sleep here. I don’t have anything better, sorry.” Tao frowned.

“It’s alright,” the robot gave a shrug and shuffled over, plopping down onto his bum on top of it. Zitao shut off the light once Kris lied down and buried himself underneath the itchy blanket of the futon. Tao himself collapsed on the lumpy mattress, throwing a pillow down for Kris to use. He knew the bot didn’t sleep, but it was easier this way. He could make sure Kris didn’t do anything suspicious.

Tao had a feeling he could trust him, however.


	5. Can Contain Warmth

Kris waited until the human’s breathing softened and deepened, alerting him that Tao was asleep. He sat up then, deep breaths leaving his lips as though there wasn’t enough oxygen in the room to supply. The robot found a smile making its way to his visage for the millionth time that night.

He was happy, oh so happy. He wasn’t even thinking about Lu Han or about running away. His mind was filled with the mechanic. His laugh, so cute and so melodic, or his smile—it was an odd one, just like Kris’s—so adorable and captivating. If Kris had thought of the human to be breath-taking from a distance, he was even more alluring up-close.

Tao, Tao was his name. Huang Zitao, it suited him somehow. The way it rolled off the tongue and even the way it was spelled, all of it fit the mechanic. Kris wanted to say it over and over and over until his voice ran out. He wanted to cry it out loudly; he wanted to whisper it softly.

Without even thinking, in a fleeting moment of overwhelming love and obsession, he scooted out of the futon and moved toward Tao who lied on the bed in deep slumber. Placing his elbows on the mattress, Kris watched as the human’s chest moved up and down slowly, lips parted as he breathed. He kneeled there, unblinking and fascinated.

He had never been more curious about a human as he was with Tao.

Kris didn’t hesitate to move from his spot to the small sliver of room on the bed, quietly and gently lying down next to the unconscious man. He lied on his side, staring at the human who lied on his back, off in dreamland. He began to wonder what dreaming felt like. It was something he never experienced, of course. When he “slept”, or rather shut down, his AI was simply disconnected and Kris was completely vulnerable in an empty state. It was like accidentally falling asleep and waking up confused as to how you had gotten there.

As he pondered this, an oil-stained hand reached to comb its false fingers through surprisingly soft raven hair. The bot was gentle as he caressed the delicate skin of Tao’s cheek, not even worried that the mechanic would awaken to him doing such odd and improper things. His bright blue eyes studied Tao’s lips. They were small and slightly plump, but cutely curved at the ends, giving an impression that he was always smirking, though his eyes contrasted greatly with that idea.

The android sighed and pulled his hand away, not wanting to get ahead of himself. His mind was out of it, completely messed up and broken. How far had he fallen? His AI couldn’t even process the amount of errors it picked up within itself. Was he beyond the point of fixing? But what if he didn’t want to be fixed?

Kris hoped that Tao would never find out, but then again, it was pretty obvious, wasn’t it?

Biting his artificial bottom lip in worry, he quit all thought processes immediately. Reaching down his own back and to just above his hips, Kris lifted up the hem of his shirt, finding that one switch that gave him a brief moment of peace. Flipping it, his body went limp.

The mechanic awoke to an unusual weight pressing against his side and light breathing cascading upon the skin of his neck, almost making him shiver. He felt oddly warm and…safe, like a soft space heater was embracing him protectively. Going against the urge to fall back into blissful slumber, Tao reluctantly opened his eyes, finding that he wasn’t exactly wrong about it being a space heater.

Perfectly-shaped lips were parted in peaceful unconsciousness, unnecessary oxygen being inhaled and exhaled, as fingers twitched against the old sheets. Pale eyelids were closed, beautiful long lashes casting shadows against flawless cheekbones. The robot’s golden hair was splayed across the pillow that he and Tao shared; it’s once perfectly tousled style now messed up. Up so close, he really did seem unnaturally handsome and angelic, like some airbrushed photo from a magazine.

With reddened cheeks, Zitao scooted away from the sleeping Kris, arms unwinding from the android’s warm waist. It was obvious that Kris had climbed up here himself during the night, and the human took to his usual habit of cuddling whatever was next to him while sleeping—something other than the pillow for once.

Clearing his throat along with his thoughts, the raven-haired male sat up, rubbing his tired eyes with his hands and checking his phone to see that it was ten in the morning. Deciding that it was time to get up and get to work, Tao moved towards the robot, who was still in his fake sleeping state. It was something that more modern robots were installed with when they shut off, making them seem human as they slept.

Lifting up the ruined shirt that Kris was still wearing from the night before, he checked the pallid skin of his skin for the button/switch to turn the bot on. Not finding anything, Tao moved Kris gently onto his stomach and pushed his shirt up once more, discovering just what he needed above the hemline of Kris’s pants. It was a very tiny black switch with “off” and “on” written on their respective sides in Mandarin. Ah, this was Lu Han’s work, so of course it was in Chinese.

Flipping it, there was a soft whirring sound before limbs twitched, and Kris made a confused sound into the pillow. Tao watched as the robot sat up, cyan eyes wide as they looked around before finding the mechanic sitting across from him.

“Good morning,” Kris said, giving a small bow of his head in greeting, that awkward smile gracing his lips.

“Ah, morning,” Tao replied, finding it a bit strange to be saying that to someone for the first time in a while. Without any more words, he swung his legs over and got out of the bed, Kris doing the same.

It felt…awkward—the atmosphere.

“I’ll…have to open shop today, so me fixing your leg has to wait,” the mechanic voiced, as he moved about the room, finding clothes to wear.

“That’s fine. I didn’t expect you to fix it right away.” Kris murmured, simply watching Tao’s movements, unsure of what to do.

Clothing in hand, Tao headed to the bathroom door, grabbing the handle before stopping his tracks. His mind flashed to waking up with Kris in his bed, and the mechanic looked to the other male with narrowed eyes. He pointed a finger at the bot. “You stay there. I’m just gonna take a shower, then we’ll clean you up.”

The robot nodded obediently, looking down at himself and examining his oil-stained skin. He could use a good bath. Tao had disappeared into the washroom, so Kris simply sat on the edge of the mattress, running a hand through his tangled hair. His thoughts wondered to Lu Han, and Kris frowned in sadness. It was natural that he felt some sort of regret for leaving Lu Han hurt and confused. He knew that the human valued Kris greatly and would do anything to get him back.

Kris was unsure that Lu Han would or wouldn’t find him. The man had many connections, one of which led to Tao. And if Suho, Kai, or anyone else came into the shop and saw Kris, they would most likely inform Lu Han right away. He had to be careful or his time with Tao would be gone.

He hadn’t realized how long he had been immersed in thought until said mechanic emerged from the bathroom, ragged bath towel hanging from his neck as he was dressed in simple jeans and a t-shirt.

“I filled the bath up for you. I guess I’ll have to help you since your leg is…” Tao didn’t bother to finish the sentence as moved to help Kris up and walk him into the bathroom.

As suspected, the room was fairly small, fitting a small bathtub, toilet, and one sink. The floor was tiled with blue and the walls were covered in torn floral wallpaper. Kris leaned against the sink as Tao released him, allowing the former male to remove his clothing, not giving it a second thought, being modest wasn’t programmed into his AI. The mechanic didn’t bat an eyelash to the robots naked body, not a very modest man either.

With the help of Zitao, the android sat down gently in the lukewarm water, pooling up to just above his bellybutton. Tao made sure that everything (soap, towels, etc.) were within Kris’s reach before leaving out the door to open the shop, promising to be back to help Kris out of the tub in fifteen minutes or so.

Kris grabbed a washcloth and some body soap, first taking care of his oil covered form, inwardly thanking Tao for getting the sickly sweet smelling wash that was made especially for oil on skin contact. He watched the soap bubble up into the cloth as he rubbed the two together, smiling at the childish act. As he scrubbed his artificial body, Kris thought again of Lu Han. The man always treated him like…his son, almost. He gave him baths and dressed him, even though the robot was fully capable of doing it on his own.

Kris sighed heavily. He didn’t think he’d miss his old master this much. Did he make the right decision?

As he rinsed himself off, he ignored the great urge to slap himself. How dare he think that for even a second?

He washed his hair fairly quickly. If his hair was real or fake, he didn’t know. It didn’t have the same consistency or feel of a doll’s plastic locks, so he suspected it was probably human hair. It didn’t grow, of course, so if he were to cut it, it would be gone.

Letting it drip in his face, Kris reached and pulled the plug from the drain, ogling as the water swirled with the soap and disappeared down the hole in the tub. Glancing around and not seeing Tao anywhere, he grimaced, trying to get up himself before slipping and plopping right back down onto his bare bottom.

He could just call him, right? He had never called Tao by his name directly. “T-Tao,” Kris called, fidgeting as he was nervous. “I’m done!”

There was a clattering-like sound from the lower floor, and Kris listened closely to hear voices. It made him think that he might’ve possibly interrupted a discussion with a customer impolitely. But, nonetheless, there was the sound of thudding coming up the steps and the robot perked up instantly.

However, the one to arrive in the bathroom doorway was not Tao, but—

“Baekhyun!” the blonde nearly shouted in surprise, eyes wide. The male with caramel hair shared a similar expression, backing up a few steps.

“Yah! What’re you doing here, Kris? You scared me!” Baekhyun laid a hand on his chest in a dramatic fashion, but grinned.

“Ah…well…” he faltered in his explanation. What was he supposed to say? “What about you?”

“Uh,” the shorter robot scratched his head, “I woke up, and that scary guy greeted me. My master has changed from Lay to him—Tao—so I’m guessing something happened? I can’t remember…”

Kris looked away. He knew exactly what had happened, having heard it from the mouth of Chanyeol. But he had said that Lay threw Baekhyun in the dump. He must’ve given him to Tao for spare parts. Feigning a smile, the blonde smoothly ignored the subject. “Is that so? Well, I’m in a similar situation, per say. Could you help me up?”

Baekhyun nodded and did as asked; only gaping at the missing half of his old friend’s leg. “What happened?”

“I ran away,” he said truthfully, “I couldn’t…be with Lu Han anymore.”

Baekhyun furrowed his brows in confusion, but Kris said no more on the subject, getting a towel and drying himself off. “Did Tao send you up here?”

“Yeah, he was dealing with a customer, so he asked me to. He’s really…nice,” a smile appeared on the short man’s lips before he added, “and surprisingly cute.”

Kris pretended to not hear the last part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for taking the time to read this! I decided to post all of my works onto here since my DRAMAtical Murder ones are on here as well. Again, these are all posted on asianfanfics as well @memefucker69. I will update here and there, but I'll be on asianfanfics more.


End file.
